Speechless
by AriannaAlexandria
Summary: Naruto and Sasuke had been friends for a long time, when Sasuke suddenly left, Naruto was heartbroken in more ways than one. After about three years Sasuke returns. Now Naruto's life just got a whole lot more complicated. SasuNaru Slight NaruGaa


Speechless

Chapter 1

"I love you."

Those three words were the last things that I had heard Sasuke say before he left. They repeated over and over again in my head like a scratched CD. I could recall just about every single detail, even the way his voice had softened when he's whispered it into my ear; making it seem like I had just imagined it to begin with.

I sat quietly in the passenger's seat of my boyfriend Gaara's car. I gazed out of the window and I felt the inevitable oncoming pool of tears start to well up in my eyes. As per usual I did my best to blink them away, I had become quite the master at this because thinking about Sasuke always had this effect on me; and I was always thinking about Sasuke.

It had all happened very suddenly; Sasuke leaving that is. I remember it like it had happened yesterday, when in all actuality it had happened almost three years ago.

It was the summer before sophomore year. Sasuke and I had been best friends since middle school. Anyway, he had called me a few weeks into August. When I answered, he sounded distant and cold. He told me to come over, and then he hung up. So that was exactly what I did. I went over.

When I got to his house I just let myself in, the way I usually did. Closing the door behind me, I passed through the foyer and found him sitting alone at the kitchen table. He had his head down on the table, but he looked up as I approached. A pained expression flashed through his face, but it quickly changed to one of no expression at all.

"Sasuke," I murmured, as I sat down across from him. I extended my hand to touch his, but he pulled it away. I placed both of my hands in my lap instead, and continued to speak anyway. "Why did you call me here?"

At that question he looked away. It was silent for a while before he finally spoke. "I have to leave," he said simply; although there was absolutely nothing simple about that statement.

I suddenly felt like the wind had been knocked out of me. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. For the first time in my life I could say that I was truly speechless. Tears had started to blur my vision, and a million questions flashed through my head, but I couldn't form the words to ask any of them. Instead I swallowed hard my throat was suddenly tight, and pulled away from the table.

The chair scraping across the floor was deafening compared to suffocating silence that we were engulfed in. My plan was to escape out the front door, and ignore all of my problems, but his hand grabbed mine before I could even stand up. The contact gave me chills and I looked back at him.

He had a conflicted look on his face, but he got closer to me and whispered, "I love you," in my ear. As if that was what I wanted to hear.

I had had no idea what my true feelings for him were at the time. But now I did, I knew exactly how I felt about him, and even after all this time, his words were still repeating themselves. Haunting me, and quite frankly making me insane.

The car stopped, and I took a glance over at Gaara. He had been silent the entire car ride over to school. He took his keys out of the ignition and then met my gaze.

"You ready for the first day of senior year?" he asked. I smiled slightly and nodded, then got out of the car, and began walking with him to our first class.

That's when it happened though. The life changing experience, that is. I was sitting in my first period class. My best friend Sakura had found us two seats in the back, and the teacher was at the front busy taking roll.

Various names were called, but one in particular happened to catch my attention.

"Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Here," a deeper, smoother, but nonetheless all too familiar voice replied. I turned towards the source and sure enough there sat Sasuke. Right behind me.

I stared at him like I was seeing a ghost, although I might has well been. He opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but I turned back around, and stared at the front of the class.

Sakura had a similar look on her face, and she stared at Sasuke shamelessly. Being my best friend, she had of course heard the whole story when it had first happened, which meant she knew how felt, and still feel about him.

"Long time no see," she began warmly, shaking off her look. "How are you?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow curiously, but replied with an okay, and that concluded their conversation. Regardless, I could still feel his gaze on my back for the remainder of the period.

By the time lunch rolled around everyone in school was talking about how Uchiha Sasuke was back. I was sitting at a table with Sakura, Ino, and Gaara when I heard my name being called. I turned just in time to see Sasuke running over to where we were sitting. I unconsciously let go of Gaara's hand, but I did not turn around to Sasuke's gaze.

"Naru please.." Sasuke persisted from behind me. He used the nickname that I had only let _him_ use, and hearing it for the first time in three years made me want to cry. But it worked, and I turned to him. I gave him an exasperated look, and then replied simply, "Don't call me that."

He ignored me completely, and said, "Please talk to me Naruto."

I sighed and stood up, walking over to a nearby table, and signaling him to follow me.

"Talk," I ordered, folding my arms over my chest.

At that moment I wanted to ask so many questions, tell him so many things, punch him in the face, and kiss him. Instead I did none of those things. Instead I stared at him with an uncaring expression and clenched my fists so tightly I thought I'd lose circulation.

"Do you think we'll ever be the way we used to be?" he asked me suddenly. I had been so caught up in my own thoughts that that question caught me off guard. I stared at him, and the tense atmosphere seemed to heavier, if that was even possible.

"Honestly," I began, unfolding my arms, "I don't know."

He nodded and pursed his lips, looking as though he were contemplating something. "You know," he began, "I meant what I said to you before I left." And with that he walked away.

I slowly walked back to my table with even more questions than before running through my head. I took my seat next to Gaara and he put his arm around me and kissed my cheek. I cringed. As much as I liked him he wasn't Sasuke.

Sakura looked at me, giving me the "you-will-tell-me-everything-that-happened" look.


End file.
